Bed davenport



July 8, 1958 J. R. THOMAS 2,341,800

BED DAVENPORT Filed Sept. 27, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

INVENTbR. JOSEPH R. THOMAS .BY

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ATT'Y July 8, 1958 J. R. THOMAS 2,341,800 BED DAVENPORT Filed Sept. 27. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: JOSEPH R THOMAS ATT'Y United States harem BED DAVENPORT Joseph R. Thomas, Chicago, ill. Application September 27, 1954, Serial No. 458,515

3 Claims. (Cl. -13) This invention relates in general to a folding davenport bed. It is more particularly described as an invertible seat structure which carries a portion of a front board in its overturning movement, but leaves a fixed front board projecting upwardly between the two side arms at the front of a frame over which some of the folding sections must pass in their folding and unfolding movements.

In a folding bed davenport of the type in which the outer and intermediate sections are folded compactly below and behind the seat section respectively within the frame, it is important that the sections as they are moved into and out of the frame will be swung sufliciently upward to be free from contact with the upper edge of that portion of the front board which is fixed at the front of the frame.

It is an important object of the present invention to pro vide means for insuring that the lower folding parts of some of the sections be guided and directed over the top of the fixed portion of the front board in their folding and unfolding movements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rolling contact for engaging and deflecting some of the folding parts over the upper edge of the fixed portion of the front board.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for supporting the folding parts of the bed davenport in their folded position within the frame and insuring that they will be guided upwardly over the top of the fixed portion of the front board.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for coordinating the folding and unfolding movement of the sections in accordance with the overturning movement of the seat section in guiding the sections upwardly and in providing a rolling engagement for directing the lowermost portions of the sections over the top of and free from contact with the upper edge of the fixed portion of the front board.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and will be apparent from the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a side view showing the connected sections of a bed davenport structure in accordance with this invention when extended over the top of a fixed portion of the front board, and in front of the davenport frame for use as a bed.

Fig. 2 is a side view showing the structure of Fig. l in an intermediate position with the seat section raised and the other sections extending in partially folded position in engagement with one portion of the deflecting means;

Fig. 3 is a side View of the bed sections in folded position within the frame and supported by a fixed portion of the guiding means; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the guiding means which comprises a slide and a roller for contacting with the folding parts.

in a bed davenport of the type having a fixed front board and connected sections which fold below the seat, it is diflicult to coordinate the movements of the sections in folding and unfolding so that they will pass freely 2,841,80il Patented July 8, 1958 over the top of a front board fixed at the front edge of the davenport frame. This difficulty is increased when the davenport frame is provided with a fixed back as the length of the outermost section and the length of the seat section are both greater than the distance between the top of the fixed front board and the lower edge of the fixed back rest.

The present invention overcomes these difficulties by both coordinating the movements of the connected sections and in guiding some of them free from engagement and over the top of the fixed front board.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the bed davenport is mounted for movement in a frame having side arms 10 supported at a distance from the floor by short legs 12 and the side arms are spaced apart by a back 14 and an upwardly extending fixed front board 16. At the rear of the frame and extending downwardly from the top of the back 14 is a fixed back rest 18 which may be upholstered or otherwise suitably covered as desired.

The folding bed structure comprises three connected sections, a seat section 20, an intermediate section 22, and an outer section 24. The seat section only is mounted in the frame by two swinging links 26 and 28 at each end of the frame, these links being connected by pivots 3th and 32 with opposite ends of a mounting member 34 secured at the inner side of each side arm 10. The other end of each link 26 is connected by a pivot 36 with an angle bar at the side of the section 20 and a stop pin 38 is also secured to the side of the seat section 20 in the path of the link 26 to hold the seat section in inverted position as shown in Fig. l.

The other end of the link 28 is connected by a pivot 46 with an extension 42 of an angle plate 44 secured to the side rail of the seat section 20.

The seat section is inverted by the links 26 and 28 as it extends from a seat position as shown in Fig. 3 to a bed position as shown in Fig. 1, the seat section. swinging upwardly and r earwardly from the seat position to the bed position within the frame.

A bed bottom section is mounted in the seat section and comprises a plurality of flexible straps 46 each connected by a helical spring 48 with a cross rail 50 supported by brackets 52, one attached to each of the side rails of the seat section 2t This bracket and cross rail also provides a suppport for a front board section 54 which is attached to the seat section and abuts the top and matches with the fixed front board 16 at the front of the frame when the seat section is in the seat position as shown in Fig. 3.

The other ends of the straps 46 are connected by helical springs 56 with a support at the opposite end of the seat section, or to a wire bed fabric extending in the two other sections.

To connect the seat section with the intermediate section for hinging movement and to coordinate the movements of the intermediate and outer sections, there are two hinging members, one a link 58 and the other a lever 60 preferably in the form of a bell crank. A rigid support 62 preferably in the form of an angle bar bent at right angles near its ends is connected at its opposite ends to the forward ends of the side rails of the seat section by rivets 64, the support 62 being inclined slightly rearward from the seat section (in seat position) and held firmly in this position by braces 66 one at each end connected firmly to the side bar of the seat section and near the outer end of the support 62. An angle bar 68 is connected at each end of the support 62 and one end of the link 55% is connected to the angle bar 68 by a pivot 70 and other end of this link being connected by a pivot 72 with the adjacent end of the intermediate section 22. One end of the lever 6% is likewise connected to the angle bar 68 by a pivot 74 near the side rail of the seat section 28 and the bell crank portion of the lever crosses the link 58' to a position below the intermediate section 22 in its extended form with the extremity thereof connected by a pivot 76 with the side of the intermediate section adjacent the end thereof.

This hinging connection maintains the seat and intermediate section in proper spaced relation at the joint and causes the relative inversion of the seat and intermediate sections when moved from one limiting position to the other.

The intermediate and outer sections are pivotally connected to each other by means of a plate 78 fixed to each of the side rails of the outer bed section 24 and having a rivet 80 which extends through the adjacent end of each of the side rails of the intermediate section 22. A supporting leg 82 is connected at each side of the intermediate section by a pivot 84 located near the inner end of this section and the two legs are connected for joint movement by a cross piece 86. Likewise a leg 88 is mounted at each side of the outer section intermediate the front and rear thereof by a pivot 90 and the two legs on opposite sides are connected by a cross piece 92.

To coordinate the movements of the intermediate and outer sections and to fold the legs automatically, a lever 94 is connected at one end by a pivot 96 with the angular or bell crank portion of the lever 60 at the same side of the folding structure and at the other end, it is connected by a pivot 98 with a downwardly projecting portion of the plate 78. Near the leg 82 of the intermediate section, a short link 100 is connected by a pivot 182 to the upper portion of the leg 82 and at the other end by a pivot 164 with the adjacent portion of the coordinating lever 94. Likewise, each leg 88 has a link 106 connected by a pivot 108 near the upper end of the leg and connected by a pivot 110 with the coordinating lever 94 at a point beyond its pivotal connection with the plate 78.

With this construction, the folding movements of all of the sections are automatically coordinated so that the legs and the sections will be folded and extended in a predetermined manner as the seat section is overturned within the seat frame and without any manual attention except the overturning of the seat and extending or returning the sections by pulling them outwardly or by raising them and pushing them inwardly.

To additionally support and connect the front portions of the side arms 10, a cross brace 112 in the form of an angle bar may be bent at its ends and secured to the inner sides of the side arms with the cross piece approximately at the lower edge of the side arms below the path of the foldable sections, but preferably quite close to the fixed front board 16.

Guiding and directing means is mounted at the rear of each end of the fixed front board 16 and each comprises a plate 114 preferably somewhat curved in the direction of its length and having a supporting bracket 116 at each upper side for mounting a roller 118 therein at the top of the guide plate upon a pivot extending transversely of the plate so that the roller is substantially in continuance of the upper surface of the plate. Each side of the bracket has ears 120 extending outwardly by means of which it may be connected to the rear side of the front board 16. The lower end of the plates are preferably curved to extend over the cross brace 112 and may be in contact therewith to provide a support for engaging some part of the foldable structure such as the outermost end of the outer section 24 and the wheels of the outer legs 88. Rollers may also be positioned on the section 24 where they would similarly engage the plate 114, if desired.

With this construction, even though there is some looseness in the connections between the legs and the sections to which they are attached and between the coordinating members and bed sections, the bed sections in their folded position will not be depressed below the normal expected position since the sections are supported by the guide plates 114 and even though bed clothes are folded inwardly between the sections which tend to cause the sections to spread or bulge apart, there is no difiiculty in folding and unfolding the sections since they are positively supported for folding and unfolding by the guiding means and by the rolling contact provided by the rollers 118 so that the foldable bed sections and the connected parts will be guided and directed over the top of the fixed front board 16 both in the extending and in the folding move ments of the sections.

To extend the bed sections from seat position as shown in Fig. 3, it is necessary only to remove a fixed cushion A (or cushions), if they are placed upon the seat section and then to raise the seat section by lifting upon the front board section 54 which is attached to the seat section. This upward movement of the front of the seat section swings it rearwardly upon its swinging links 26 and 28 to the position shown in Fig. 2, the weight of the foldable sections being partially counterbalanced by springs 126 and 128 attached respectively to the levers 26 and 28 at one end. The other end of spring 126 is attached to a bracket 127 below the mounting member 34 at the inner side of the side arm which also forms a support for the swinging link 28 in its lower position as shown in Fig. 3. The other end of spring 128 is connected to a fixed point 129 at the inner side of the adjacent side arm. This upward movement of the seat section will cause a corresponding movement of the coordinating links and levers which will draw the outer and intermediate sections outwardly from the bottom of the davenport frame and outwardly over the top of the fixed front board 16. To insure their smooth and continued movement in this outward direction, the guiding plates 114 in the path of the legs and their rollers at each side of the folding sections will insure the upward movement of the foldable parts and in further contact with the rollers 118 will guide the parts over the top of the fixed front rail and entirely clear of obstruction thereby or contact therewith.

As the folding parts pass over the fixed front board, their movement is further controlled by the coordinating means to extend the legs and to support the sections so that the mattress supporting fabric contained therein will be in alignment.

In its limiting position as a bed, the swinging links 26 will engage the fixed stops 38 in the sides of the seat section as shown in Fig. 1 which will hold the seat section at its proper elevation and at this time, the coordinating means will be eifectively locked by the lever 94 and its link 106 so that the extended sections will not tend to collapse.

In folding the bed davenport within the frame from the bed position, the outer end of the bed is manually raised and pushed inwardly which breaks the locking action of the coordinating means and the continued movement moves the parts to an intermediate position as represented by Fig. 2 in which some of the parts may rest upon the rollers 118 to prevent them from dragging over the upper edge of the front board 16 and the continued inward movement will be controlled by the coordinating means to fold the sections together entirely within the frame as shown by Fig. 3.

While a preferred construction has been thus described in some detail, it should be regarded as an illustration or example rather than as a limitation or restriction of the invention, since various changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a bed davenport having a frame with a fixed upwardly extending front board, a plurality of hingedly connected sections to form a seat when folded and a bed when extended, means connecting the sections for coordinating their movements into and out of the frame, guiding and supporting means at the rear of the front board extending from the upper edge and downwardly and inwardly therefrom, one of the sections having foldably related parts and engaging said means to support the sections in'the seat position within the frame in close relation to the front board and to direct them over the top of the front board free from contact therewith in the folding and unfolding movement of the sections into and out of the frame.

2. In a bed davenport in accordance with claim 1, the guiding and supporting means comprising a plate curved downwardly and inwardly to support the folded bed sections in the frame and to slidably direct the sections upwardly at an angle close to the front board.

3. In a bed davenport in accordance with claim 1, said guiding and supporting means comprising a plate secured 10 at the back and below the top, extending downwardly close to the back and inwardly near the bottom for slidably supporting the folded sections, and a roller at the top of the plate, the plate supporting and slidahly guiding 6 the section and its said parts sharply upward and downward close to the rear of the front board and the roller guiding said parts and sections over and free from the top of the front board in addition to the action of said coordination means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,976,753 Thomas Oct. 16, 1934 2,744,265 Thomas May 8, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 470,122 Great Britain Aug. 10, 1937 

